Cheaper international flight on the way
A report in The Daily Telegraph today says that even cheaper flights are on the horizon for Australian travellers after another Asian budget airline announced it will take on Jetstar and Virgin Blue.
Chinese low-cost carrier Viva Macau said yesterday it would begin flights between Sydney and Macau three times a week in July. In March, it said it would not start until next year.
The domestic industry was already preparing for a discount price war after Singapore’s Tiger Airways announced it would fly within Australia offering tickets with single-digit prices.
Not since the early 1990s, when the now-defunct domestic players Ansett, Impulse and Compass Airlines were in operation, has there been such tight competition.
In a sign of what is to come, Qantas offshoot Jetstar earlier this month offered 400,000 tickets for $3 in a “take a friend” campaign just as Tiger announced it would be based in Melbourne when it launches its domestic routes later this year.
Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline would deal with the latest newcomer Viva Macau as it has with all its rivals, “It’s nothing new for us, as we are always competing against a large variety of carriers,” Mr Joyce said.
“It just shows how competitive the low-cost market is.”
“Sydney to Macau is not a route we had on our radar screen, and it’s not a route we have direct competition on.”
“But competition is the nature of the aviation industry at the moment and we think we are well-equipped to be able compete against them.”
Viva Macau, which launched services this year to Jakarta and the Maldives, also plans to launch flights on the Sydney to Hong Kong route, as well as flights to Seoul and Osaka.
Viva is charging about $140 for a return flight from Macau to Jakarta.
“We have not finalised details yet, but we will launch the direct flight between Macau, Asia’s Las Vegas, and Sydney in (coming months),” a Viva spokeswoman said.
“We will offer ultra-low fares as we do in all the markets we serve as this is the core element of our service.”
Mr Joyce said that, domestically, Jetstar was focusing on its current competition, Virgin Blue.
“Who knows when Tiger is actually going to start? They haven’t announced a network, they haven’t announced a date, so that could be six months away,” he said.
“But when Tiger comes, we’ll defend our market-leading position as the low fares carrier in this market.”
Tiger’s chief executive Tony Davis has “guaranteed” the airline will “do better than $3 take a friend” prices, saying single-digit ticket prices will be a common sight once it starts up.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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